NEW YORK (S&P Global Ratings) March 3, 2021--S&P Global Ratings said today Apollo Global Management's purchase of The Michaels Cos. Inc. (B/Positive/--) for $3.3 billion speaks to the potential for continued gains in the arts and crafts category over the coming year. The sector has benefited from stay-at-home orders we believe will persist in pockets in fiscal 2021. Michaels' leverage could increase, as is often the case with private equity-led buyouts, but we see upside given expected EBITDA margin gains for the coming year. We earlier expected that figure to decline 450 basis points in fiscal 2020. Recent sector tailwinds have led to double-digit percentage revenue growth at Michaels, and benefited peers such as Jo-ann Stores LLC to an even
